It is imperative that we get our nation’s fiscal house in order and work to address our nation’s debt and deficit. High levels of debt translate to much lower levels of economic growth and those same high levels of debt mean that too many of our taxpayer dollars are wasted on paying high interest and unnecessary overages. While we can start with eliminating duplicative programs, wasteful spending, and fraud.
If we don’t address the broken budget and appropriations system producing these spending deals, we won’t ever solve this problem. We need to know where our money is going and work through funding packages in a responsible, thoughtful, and deliberate way through regular order — not rushed through at the last minute.
Returning to regular order — moving spending bills through the committee process and the House floor where we read, debate, and vote on them — will go a long way towards bringing transparency back to the budget and appropriations process. This requires holding Members of Congress accountable, something I have been dedicated to throughout my time in Congress.
I authored three bills to achieve this:
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The Stay on Schedule (S.O.S) Resolution — would force Speaker Pelosi to keep Congress in town until all appropriations bills are passed, instead of adjourning for the August recess.
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The No Budget, No Pay Act — would prevent Members from being paid until we pass a budget.
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Inaction Has Consequences Act — would hold Congress Members’ salaries if we do not pass regular appropriation bills before the end of the Fiscal Year.
This level of transparency and accountability is critical to getting the budget process under control and to rein in wasteful government spending.
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